Drugs And Alcohol Abuse

by Fazeel Chauhan

(Published in Pakistan Link  ~  3-4-91)

Drug and alcohol abuse is a problem in this country and also in Pakistan. Drugs have stolen some of my friends and I've wondered why it is that people use and abuse them. The problem does not begin with the first sip or the first hit. The origins are deeply rooted in social and psychological causes.
The recent availability of more dangerous drugs such as heroin have made this a serious problem in Pakistan. Drugs and weapons some times go hand in hand. Maybe one reason for the increased influx of drugs in Pakistan is the war in Afghanistan. The Iran-Contra affair is a good source of information about this type of phenomena. Having said that, I'd now like to focus on the more immediate causes of drug abuse.
Plenty of research has been done on the social and psychological causes of drug abuse. I invite you to think about and research why people use drugs. The problem is not restricted to a certain socio-economic group. Any person is susceptible to it. In America, we frequently hear that among the users there are lawyers, doctors, businessmen and even politicians. So what purposes do drugs and alcohol serve? What is the pain and suffering which the users are trying to numb and alleviate? What realities are they trying to escape? We can find many reasons if we look at each case objectively. An example is what happened with my friend Azmat's brother. Here's the story in Azmat's own words:
"My father used to work in Dubai. After a few of his friends sent their sons to study in the U. S., he decided to send me here too. He wanted me to become a doctor. But my brother Habeeb also wanted to come along. He decided to attend a college for a year to get a diploma in Computers. I was sixteen and Habeeb was seventeen. When Habeeb was in Pakistan, he occasionally used alcohol, marijuana and even opium. I didn't pay attention to it at the time because he never did it in front of me. Like the rest of the family, I didn't want to see the problem and denied its existence.
"After arriving in Los Angeles, I started going to USC, and he went to another college. Our next door neighbors were South Asians as well. Habeeb made friends with them and they re-introduced him to alcohol and marijuana. He had decided using drugs in childhood, to avoid the pain caused to him by his family. Our father, for example, frequently beat us without a legitimate reason. Habeeb was emotionally scarred by this abuse and resented it very much. Parents should give enough love to a child to make her/him feel that s/he is genuinely loved. This gives a child the kind of self-esteem, which is worth more than all the gold in the world. When they grow up, they feel confident enough to face even the biggest crisis successfully. On the other hand, when children are abused, some of them like Habeeb, want to kill themselves. They feel neglected, unwanted, hurt, resentful and powerless. Some may choose suicide as a form of vengeance. While others kill themselves slowly, through a form of self-destruction such as drug or alcohol abuse.
"Habeeb progressed to the more dangerous drugs. He started doing LSD (also called acid) and PCP (a tranquilizer for elephants). But he was unaware of the dangers of these drugs. LSD makes a person see and hear things which are not real. PCP can stay stored in the body for months, causing flashbacks at unpredictable times. Imagine the strength of this drug, which was used as a tranquilizer for elephants. I'm sure these drugs were not available in Pakistan in those days. But they were responsible for making my brother crazy.
"He tried to jump out of the 3rd storey window, he threw himself in front of cars and also became very violent. I tied him up so he wouldn't hurt himself or others. I thought he'd soon snap out of this state. But I had to take him to the hospital after he got completely out of control and lost his mind. He did not recognize me. I was shocked at the whole situation. At age sixteen, this was my first major experience and it haunts me to this day. His doctors could not tell me when he would get better. I was overwhelmed, I didn't know what to do, and I had no family here to help me. I prayed a lot. A whole lot. But day after day, when I visited him in the mental hospital, his condition did not improve. At times he was like a zombie, at other times he was restricted to a padded cell and not allowed visitors. I had lost hope, but five months later, he started coming to his senses again. A few days after he was released, I sent him back to Pakistan. I moved out of the city as well because it kept reminding me of my painful feelings and memories.
"He did not suffer as much as I did, because he was not aware of his condition. But I cried and hurt because I had to see him like that every day. My own brother, lost, somewhere far away, and I didn't know how to get him back. The psychiatrists and psychologists did all they could and woke him up again. So what is he doing today? Habeeb went back to Pakistan eight years ago and for most of that time, he's been addicted to heroin."
Azmat is one of the most clear-headed and understanding people I know. Why is it that his life turned out ok, while his brother's didn't? I think each one of us has different levels of sensitivity. Maybe Habeeb has a more fragile nature and his wounds hurt more. For many of the years that he's been abusing drugs, the people around him ignored his problem. He kept drifting farther and farther away. If the father acknowledged Habeeb's problem, then he'd have to think about the causes, one of which would be his own abuse. So these issues can be very scary to look at.
Drugs and alcohol are forbidden in Islam. In Pakistan, one might feel a lot more social pressure to not use them. But in the U. S., a person can go down to Vons and grab a six pack. The ads tell us that any time is "Miller time". Drug use is more acceptable here and alcohol is well promoted. Like Habeeb, a person can be easily tempted to use one of these items as a crutch. It may be to stop boredom or to avoid an uncomfortable feeling. The person may be trying to forget a painful memory and use drugs as a means of escape. Some may feel powerless about their condition and use drugs to make themselves feel "good".
On the surface, these reasons seem foolish and it's easy for us to point the finger and reject a person who has a drug problem. "S/he is stupid, is not like me, is not one of us..." But this only hurts and further alienates the person instead of helping them. We need to look at the deeper causes of this problem. Why does a person feel powerless to begin with? Exactly what is it that they are trying to forget or escape? Have they suffered a loss recently? Are they under a lot of stress? Do they feel lonely and depressed? The roots of these problems have to be discovered for each individual and then solved.
The first step toward the solution is to identify the problem. Some times this step takes a long time. The user needs to properly define what the problem is and then take steps to correct it. The problem may seem overwhelming, making a person feel hopeless and helpless. When a person has a lot of burden or if something is really bothering them, it becomes hard to keep the mind clear and to know what's going on. In this situation, a close friend or relative can offer the much needed support before things really get out of hand. Counselors and support groups can also serve the purpose.
The longer we put off facing our problems, the more complex they become and the harder it is to solve them. Drug and alcohol abuse are classified as illnesses and should be controlled and stopped as soon as possible. If someone you know has a drug or alcohol problem, there is plenty of medical and psychological help available. Most areas have a local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Hotlines are also listed in the phone book for quick counseling and as sources of reference. Ideally the whole family works through the problems together with the help of a professional. We have to try to understand the person and then help them. For their recovery, drug users need lots of help, support and encouragement